Hugo van der Goes and the Netherlandish Drawings

Project: Research funding

Project Details

Abstract

This project aims to examine and to catalogue all the Netherlandish drawings influenced by Hugo van der Goes (Ghent ca 1440-1482 Rode Klooster, near Brussels). Among the known artists to whom some of these drawings are attributed were the Master of Mary of Burgundy, the Master of the Joseph Sequence, the Master of the Story of Tobit, the Master of the Lucy Legend, the Master of the Ursula Legend and the Master of 1499. Most of the drawings, however, have not been attributed with certainty to any artist. In works of unspecific style, in sketchy copies or in clumsy models for glass roundels it has even proved difficult to decide whether they are of North- or South-Netherlandish origin. The planned project will attempt to bring order to the current confusion. The kind of approach used will depend on the specific questions and problems raised by each individual drawing. With some sheets the main focus will be on style and material analysis, with others on iconographic investigation, with others on water-mark and provenance research. The on-site examination of the original drawings has already been carried out by the Corpus project (see below). Unexpected discoveries, however, may make new on-site inspection essential. The main task of this project is to analyse the data already collected, to process the technical literature and to engage in a thorough investigation of collection and auction catalogues. At the same time co-operation with glass painting experts, paper historians and, in particular, materials scientists will bring new indications of the temporal and geographical identifications of drawings (e.g. by means of water-mark radiographies, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy etc.). Apart from style and technology the function of each drawing will be examined; this is of particular importance in the analysis of drawings for glass roundels. Questions about function will tie in with more general investigations into the history of ideas and the socio-historical circumstances which determined the choice, use and diffusion of certain subjects.
The proposed project will act in close co-operation with Fritz Koreny's research project, The Corpus of German and Netherlandish Drawings, 1350-1500. Erwin Pokorny has worked in that Corpus project for the last six years, and has built up a photographic database which will be at the disposal of his Van der Goes project.
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date1/03/06 → 31/12/08

Keywords

  • Netherlands
  • Hugo van der Goes
  • glass roundels